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Baijal writes to Sisodia says L-G’s efforts for public welfare seen with bias
Delhi’s deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, in a letter to Anil Baijal, sent on Saturday, had objected to the L-G holding meetings with bureaucrats and alleged that he instructed them on works that came under the purview of the elected government.
Delhi’s lieutenant governor (L-G) Anil Baijal on Thursday wrote to deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia criticising his letter accusing the L-G of encroaching upon the domain of the elected government by holding meetings with bureaucrats independently without involving concerned ministers on important matters. He also said that Sisodia should not have made the letter public and rather taken up concerns over administrative issues over a personal discussion.
In his letter, Baijal said his recent meetings with bureaucrats involved issues such as Covid-19 management, implementation of schemes such as ‘One Nation, One Ration Card’, water supply and housing. He added that Sisodia’s letter did not specify any instance of “obstruction” and accused the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government of looking at his efforts through a “biased lens”.
“Several complicated administrative issues involve multiple departments and it is needless to say that [in] matters of public importance, the opinion of the elected government should be in favour of cooperation and harmony… Your letter does not mention any specific instance of obstruction caused to the decision of the elected government on any issue… It is unfortunate that my efforts with clean intent towards public welfare were seen through a biased lens and misinterpreted. In the end, I want to repeat that I shall continue fulfilling my constitutional responsibilities aimed at serving the people of Delhi,” said Baijal’s letter to Sisodia, written in Hindi, a copy of which HT has seen.
He further said that some of the meetings with chief ministers of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana regarding shortage of water supply in Delhi was chaired on request from Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal.
Sisodia, in a letter to Baijal, sent on Saturday, had objected to the L-G holding meetings with bureaucrats and alleged that he instructed them on works that came under the purview of the elected government. Sisodia called the L-G’s actions “murder of democracy” and violative of the Supreme Court judgment.
“Over the last few months, you have been calling prominent officials of the Delhi government to your office and issuing directions related to work of their departments. I have also come to know that you are issuing directions to the officials on subjects that come under the purview of the elected government, without even keeping the ministers in the loop, and later officials of the L-G secretariat are pressuring the bureaucrats to implement such orders,” Sisodia said in the letter, a copy of which was seen by HT.
The deputy CM “humbly requested” Baijal to desist from such “activities”. “Under the Constitution, the Delhi LG can take decisions only on police, land and public order,” Sisodia said, citing the Supreme Court order of July 4, 2018, which said that the L-G should work with the aid and advice of the elected government.
Baijal wrote back to Sisodia on Thursday claiming all his meetings were “within” his office’s “domain” and his efforts were being subjected to “wrongful allegations instead of due appreciation”.
“These meetings are essential in the light of better coordination among multiple agencies and they are important in ensuring efficient implementation of welfare schemes and programmes. Such meetings aimed at fulfilment of responsibilities of this office towards ensuring public welfare are not new but never before have any objections been raised against them,” he wrote.
He added that he had no hesitation in sharing details of the meetings held in the last three months.
“There have been three review meetings of the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) focussing on strategies and preparedness against potential waves of the Covid-19 pandemic in future. There have also been routine meetings of the DDMA on status of vaccination, compliance of Covid-19 appropriate behaviour, PSA oxygen plants in hospitals, facilities concerning supply of medical oxygen among hospitals, strength of healthcare and paramedic staff, sero-survey, relaxations concerning economic activities, strategies on micro containment, contact tracing and tests, and information and awareness campaigns. Stakeholders such as the National Disaster Management Authority, health and revenue departments, police and panels of experts have participated in these meetings… Are meetings organised to enhance coordination among them to ensure better Covid-19 management unconstitutional now?” Baijal asked in the letter.
He also mentioned meetings held to review implementation of ONORC, welfare of street vendors, water supply, Delhi Master Plan and women security.
“Delhi is also facing shortage of water and Delhi chief minister (Arvind Kejriwal) had himself asked me to personally discuss the water issue with chief ministers of neighbouring states Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. To address hardships faced by people due to shortage of water supply, three meetings were held which involved representatives of the environment department, urban development department and Delhi Jal Board,” the letter said.
He asserted that all the aforementioned meetings were conducted through video conference facility and not necessarily through physical attendance of all stakeholders in Raj Niwas. “When decisions are to be taken, concerned officials and ministers are invited to attend these meetings…,” the letter argued.
